Today, we’re pleased to be able to tell you that the first batch of Arduino boards and shields have left the RadioShack distribution centers en route to our thousands of local stores. Now you can easily find a RadioShack store and get the parts you need to finish that awesome project, or you can hop on our website to get your fix.

We won’t just be carrying a single board, either – no way! Below is the full list of boards and shields that you can expect to find:

Microcontrollers:

Arduino Uno REV 3 (2760128): This is the latest revision of the basic Arduino USB board. It connects to the computer with a standard USB cable and contains everything else you need to program and use the board. It can be extended with a variety of shields: custom daughter-boards with specific features.

Arduino Mega 2560 REV3 (2760127): The version of the Mega released with the Uno, this version features the Atmega2560, which has twice the memory.

Arduino Mega ADK (2760129): Based on the Mega 2560, this version has a USB host interface to connect with Android based phones.

Shields:

Arduino Ethernet Shield Without PoE Module (2760130): The Arduino Ethernet Shield allows an Arduino board to connect to the internet.

Now that Arduino boards and shields are available at your local RadioShack store, what will YOU build with them? Check out the awesome projects that have been shared at the Great Create or share your own project.

32 Comments

meee

Sean

Are these come to all stores, company owned stores, or just a few test markets?
Also, searching for Arduino on your site still takes users to the Basic Stamp kit.
There’s a lot of interest in Arduino from my students and fellow faculty, and I’d love to be able to tell them when and where they can pick one up locally in Orlando!

David

Very disappointed in Western Mass….

I’ve been waiting weeks for the kits to arrive, I’ve called every other day for 2 weeks, and finally they are starting to trickle in to local stores inventory systems. All along I’ve been asking for pricing and now I have it – 10-20% more than online stores. The ultimate kit is listed at $150 and the -exact- same thing is $125 from the MakeZine store.

If Radio Shack is going to recapture their DIY credentials, they are going to need to -stop- their massive markups. For years their components have been hugely overpriced up to 1000%, and now then enter the Arduino market in the same position. They have long since lost their sole-source advantage, and their pricing structure should reflect the current century and not the 1970’s.

Don’t get me wrong, I -want- to shop locally and make every effort, but these prices are way out of line if they plan to draw customers back…

Ricky Cadden

David – thanks for the feedback. The ultimate kit from RadioShack includes the microcontroller, while the one from the MakeZine store priced at $125 does not, hence the price difference. Aside from that, our prices should be exactly the same as those that you’ll find elsewhere. You can check the price on all of our Arduino products here: http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=arduino&origkw=arduino&sr=1

Why doesn’t Radio Shack have a big Black Friday special on Arduinos to kick these off in a big way? Something like the first 50 people in every store can buy an Arduino for $15.

This would generate ENORMOUS buss on the internet and generate lots of new customers for RS. Not to mention that virtually everyone who has an Arduino ends up buying other parts like sensors and LEDs etc to go with it.

Ricky Cadden

Brandon

This literally made me smile from ear to ear. When I was a kid, my dad would take me with him to Radioshack to get actual parts. I wasn’t into very detailed projects until I got into college and was disappointed for years by the selection of DIY and discreet components that RS carried. Now I feel the kid inside of me jumping up and down. I’m just itching to walk into a store now, with no clear idea in mind and walking out with not only an idea of something to make, but the parts to do it!

Robin

I found the “Getting Started with Arduino” book at your SF store Thursday – bought it (they had exactly 2 copies, plus exactly 2 copies of each of the other 5 or 6 titles…) but no actual Arduino hardware as yet… “coming soon” they said.

sanguish

John

Just bought the Arduino motor shield at my local Radio Shack, but where are the online docs? Not on the arduino.cc site, and I haven’t found them on the RS site. Can’t do anything with it until I locate some documentation.

steve

agree with previous comments about docs for the motor shield. total waste of money if one is unable to determine appropriate pin outs. this particular motor shield looks nothing like the ones from sparkfun, adafruit. if the docs don’t show up soon, i’ll be taking it back and getting a refund. good idea but very poorly planned and implemented. too bad, as i had high hopes for this.

BJ

Hot damn, Radio Shack is FINALLY coming back to being the great store it once was. I’m very glad to see the whole “maker” movement is driving RS to better address the needs of the DIYers of the world (like myself).

David R

I just bought the motor shield and am now regretting it since other than being on the shelves at Radio Shack this product apparently does not exist. If I checked online first I would NOT have bought it since there is exactly ZERO documentation that I can find for it, making it practically useless. It has all appearances of being an “official” Arduino product, so perhaps this is a failing of Arduino and not Radio Shack. In any case, _someone_ needs to let us know just how to use this otherwise promising motor control board.

Darryl Seamans

At least one store in Portland, Maine had a bunch of kits and accessories. However, most Arduino and related products were gone within days. The associate I spoke with was *very* knowledgeable about this product, which (unfortunately) seems to be a rare exception these days. RadioShack seems to want to get back to its roots of being a do-it-yourselfer’s dream with this move to introduce Arduino into its retail stores, but if they want to capitalize they need to make sure stores are better stocked with this product, as well as educate their associates as to what it is for. This one associate in the Portland store was beyond knowing what he was talking about — it was great “geeking” out with him for the better part of 1/2 an hour and I will be back to show him what I’ve made with my kit. All in all the best shopping experience I’ve had at RS since I discovered their solar panel kit back in the early 80’s

Will you be stocking the ATmega328 chip as well? so we can swap out our chips? or just the full-on Arduino and no chips? I’d LOVE to be able to just go to my local R.S. and get the 328, instead of having to get one online and….. UGH….. WAIT!

@ David R: there are a lot of different companies that make motor shields. If you search for ‘Arduino Motor Shield Tutorial’ or “Arduino Motor Driver”, you’re bound to find something. check out ladyada’s tutorials.

Jon

Great to hear! The problem is I checked today and not all Arduino items are available (the ones listed on the Radio Shack site). I checked the ethernet POE shield for the arduino and called a local store. He said no Radio Shack has that part. When can we expect inventory to reach all stores of all arduino products? Thanks!

Drew

This is indeed good news for RS and DIY’ers! But where in the SF Bay area are these new parts? I have been to three in the South Bay and no Arduinos to be found…if this is to be a serious & credible play to bring hobbyists back to RS, they needs to have the boards and parts avail now, not just a teaser press release to get people into stores (to buy other stuff perhaps?) Thanks and hope to buy Arduino soon!

John

Good job Radio Shack, I had given up on you all for the most. I have been spending quite a bit of time in my local Radio Shack (Please get RID of ‘The Shack’). And I will be spending dollars there as well.

TLR

I just got the arduino mega 2560 and it won’t allow any com ports to show up or any programming.
My arduino duemilanove works just fine when i connect it to com port.
I tried everything to get this to work, and all I get is a flashing L light…

I want to return this arduino to radioshack, but maybe their an answer out there why it wont work on windows 7 64bit.

Jerry

Greg

I have a 2560. It works great with Windows 7. For documentation on any arduino product just go to the Arduino website. There is a ton of documentation out there for the motorshield. i have that one too and got everything i needed from the arduino website.